DOWN IN HISTORY
could happen against Daniel Dubois in a second fight. Dubois is a different guy now; he has redeemed himself, found himself. But if Usyk wanted to go off into the sunset… then he is there. He has achieved it all as a fighter.” Indeed, there can be little doubt about that, but delving further into Usyk’s Ukrainian backdrop, he might just be the most politically symbolic boxer since Muhammad Ali, notwithstanding the work of his compatriots, the brothers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko. All are deeply involved in the resistance against the Russian invasion of their country, which began in February 2022. Usyk made his ring walk dressed in traditional Cossack robes. In a greatly symbolic gesture after the fight, Usyk produced a Cossack sword that had been passed to him in the ring. I had been contacted prior to fight night by a Ukrainian organization that had brought the saber to Riyadh with great care and meticulousness. It was, as described by my contact, a “rare and collectable museum exhibit of legendary Ukrainian leader and Cossack Ivan Mazepa.” As they explained, Mazepa (1639- 1709) “had been famous for standing up to Russia in the fight for Ukraine’s independence.” The moment with the sword was to “showcase Ukraine’s rich historical heritage and help restore Mazepa’s name in modern times – a figure Russia has historically vilified as a traitor.” It was a moment of pageantry that would not have been lost on the Ukrainian people. Alex Krassyuk, Usyk’s promoter, explained that his fighter’s resonance as a champion and a folkloric figure has grown exponentially in recent years, and as a symbol of hope in the face of the Russian invasion. “Oleksandr knows that Ukraine should be the place of where a new civilization has to be reborn, where the western and the eastern world could come together and join their efforts to the point where Ukraine is and work for a better future, not fight
for a better future ... work together,” Krassyuk told me. Deep words enveloping a catastrophic scenario for many people over recent years. Perhaps that has guided Usyk’s mission in the ring: “You know, Oleksandr’s philosophy is about being very helpful for other people,” added Krassyuk, who is also Ukrainian. “When he comes to the ring, it’s his profession, so he has to fight and he has to win, but he doesn’t have to hate his opponent. “He loves his opponent, he respects him, and with a full heart of love he hits him according to the rules. But he doesn’t feel this anger, he doesn’t feel like he’s doing damage. No, his objective is to win, and the less damage he does to his opponent the better. This is his philosophy.” Fascinating. Post-fight, Usyk acknowledged Fury to have been the toughest opponent of his career. Fury, meanwhile, believed he had won the contest – no bad thing given the sport will want to see him in the ring with Joshua for that huge sporting event for British – and global – fight fans in 2025. If Usyk embodied the Cossack tradition, Fury’s ring walk was more festive-themed, dressed in a Santa Claus costume accompanied by Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas.” Lighthearted perhaps, but it was hardly a mirror of his demeanor in fight week. There were several keystone moments during what was a fascinating buildup in Riyadh – always involving grand set pieces – beginning with a media day on Monday in which Fury was less expansive than usual in putting forth theories on the Saturday fight night. It was the usual talk, with Fury asserting that he would thrust Usyk into a “hurt locker” while looking for “destruction and damage.” The intent from “The Gypsy King” was to make it a more aggressive affair the second time around. Fury was solemn and carried a face of stone, a departure from being the entertainer, the jokester, for which he has also become known.
It was as if Fury was carrying a level of intensity comparable to what we had witnessed in his second fight with Deontay Wilder in February 2020, in Las Vegas. A heavier, more destructive force. During this fight week, at the grand arrivals and the workouts, Fury completed his duties (in fact, he took 10 minutes in the ring at the workouts on a chilly evening, heavily clothed, and did not throw a glove on the pads with trainer SugarHill Steward). Yet when the two men came face-to-face at a small, packed hall on Thursday evening for the news conference at Via Riyadh, an upmarket mall near the Diplomatic Quarter, hell was finally unleashed between them. On that night, with the black-tie dinner relaunch of The Ring Magazine just a short walk away after the news conference, the two fighters indulged in an 11-minute, 47-second staredown, unnerving in its intensity. They eventually had to be pulled apart, with neither man wanting to be the first to avert his eyes. Fury unleashed a torrent of expletives at his opponent while Usyk attempted to wind Fury up. Many believe this to be the longest staredown in boxing history. Yet the fight and the event itself were truly ignited in that moment, with Fury’s self-evident ire alongside Usyk’s desire, as champion, to match the challenge. There was more drama to follow. The weigh-in was replete with fans, Fury not stripping off and scaling 281 pounds, with Usyk a career-heaviest 226. That day, though, was hijacked by news of the “bushy beard” controversy. The teams of Fury and Usyk had become embroiled in a bizarre row at their pre-fight weigh-in as the Ukrainian boxer’s team claimed that the Briton’s luxuriant beard had “grossly” violated the rules and demanded it be trimmed before the showdown. Fury had grown the facial hair at his warm-weather training camp in Malta. However, the three sanctioning bodies – WBA, WBC and WBO – saw no issue
with Fury’s facial hair. But Krassyuk issued a strongly-worded statement. “[The] beard rule is grossly violated. WBC rules clearly say ‘a boxer may sport a trimmed beard and/or mustache as long as, in the discretion of the commission and the supervisor, the facial hair thickness does not: (1) cushion or in any way affect the impact or trajectory of punches; or (2) cause cuts or abrasions to his rival.’” Krassyuk later said: “So, Tyson’s beard has to be trimmed. We will push it further.” It was understood that Usyk’s team had also placed a strongly worded submission with the Middle East Boxing Commission, which sanctions professional bouts in the region. However, Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, scoffed at the complaints. “He has a beard, and there’s been a lot of fighters over the years who have fought with beards, and that’s it,” said Warren. On fight night, as we all now know,
That has all changed, and we have Turki [Alalshikh] and Riyadh Season to thank for that. “Look what boxing has produced in the last two years ... so many great events. It’s just phenomenal, and I think boxing fans are really lucky right now.” “We had two fantastic fights between Tyson and Usyk in 2024. The first fight was thrilling and with so much drama; the second fight, given the skill involved and the pace it was fought at, at that level, was incredible. Those two fights fit in history with Ali-Frazier, Ali- Foreman and the Lewis-Holyfield fights. It’s right up there.” There can be no greater praise for Usyk and Fury, two great warriors. It was a pleasure and thrill to be there, witnessing both extraordinary boxers at work. Gareth A Davies is boxing correspondent of the London Telegraph and TalkSPORT.
Usyk raises a Cossack sword symbolic of Ukrainian freedom.
the bushy beard remained. It had no bearing on the contest, either. Trainer Andy Lee, in Fury’s corner for both encounters between the two heavyweights in 2024, told me in mid-January, after all the fallout, with neither fighter’s immediate future announced or decided, that fight fans must celebrate the two encounters, and the state of boxing, after 2024. We did, after all, get the two leading heavyweights in the ring together twice in 2024, both momentous contests. Lee told me: “Anything said about boxing before Riyadh Season, that the best weren’t fighting the best, that they don’t fight each other or that we were waiting for the biggest fights to happen or that promoters weren’t cooperating with each other, can no longer be said.
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